Centering device



' 1,512,586 B. F. FAUNCE CENTERING DEVICE Patented Oct. 21, 1924.

BENJAMIN F. FAUNCE, 01? JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

CENTERING DEXLI'CiE.

Application filed September 29, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. FAUNGE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Johnstown, county of Gainbria, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Ilnprove men'ts in Centering Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same My invention relates to a centering device which is adapted to be used in centering or positioning a blank or other shape of ma terial in a forging press or other apparatus in order to hold the same in proper posi tion and location for subsequent operation thereon,

My invention is particularly applicable for use in connection with forging presses that form wheel blanks from substantially cylindrical slugs or blanks, which before being operated upon by the press, must be centered or positioned with respect to the upper and lower dies, so that when the dies are caused to approach each other and plastically forge the material the blank will be in such location with respect to the dies that their operation will produce the desired shape without eccentricity or improper di tortion,

My device is particularly applicable for the centering of blanks from which to make car wheels, shells, fly wheel's, gear wheels and any other similar articles.

Owing to the comparatively rough form of the blank or slug it cannot be laid upon the die with eXact-itude, and even if this could be done it would tilt-and beconie out of position when the upper die is forced downwardly upon it, which would result in an unsymmetrical and unusable forging as the result of such operation.- All ofthis is obviated by means of my apparatus, as it centers or positions the blank between the dies and holds it until the dies have grasped it,- after which the centering device releases it and the dies are finally forced toward each other to form the shape desired;

My 'invel'ition consists generally of a pair of swinging arms, each provided with a V- shaped jaw. Each jaw may be adjusted on the arm longitudinally so that the center of the closed jaws coincides with the central axis of the press or dies in order to locate Serial No. 504,162.

or position the center of the blank exactly with respect to the subsequent operation thereon. Each arm is pivoted at or near its other end and is provided with a short crank secured to or integral therewith. Each crank is pivotally connected by a link to a cross head, which cross head is actuated by a fluid-pressure piston operating in a cylinder, and the pistonrod is provided with an adjusting nut whereby the throw or movement of the arms may be regulated.

Having thus given a general description of my invention, I will now, in order to make the matter more clear, refer to the annexed two sheets of drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which like char acters refer to like parts;

Figure l is a top plan view of my improved centering device with posts or standards of the forging press shown in section; Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof; Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional elevatio'n through the centering device taken on the line III- 111 of Figure s; Figure l is a vertical transverse sectional elevation taken on the line I.V--IV of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a detail side elevation of the end of one of the arms and jaws and the top portion of the die block showing a modification in the mannor of attaching the jaws to the ends of the arms; Figure 6 is a top plan view of the end of one of the jaws; Figure 7 is a top plan view of one of the links; Figure 8 is a vertical longitudinal section through the end of the link shown in Figure 7 taken on the line VIII-VIII of Figure 7 and Figure 9 is a side elevation of one of the shims I have shown my invention in connection with a forging press adapted to forge the first wheel blank from an approximately cylindrical blank or slug, but wish it understood that my invention may be used in con nection with any other forms of product or with any kind of presses, hammers or other apparatus to which it is adapted.

Referring now to the characters of refer ence on the drawi'ngsP-l is the base plate of a forging press; 2 are the standards of the same which also act as guides for the upper head or platen in its upward and downward movement; 3 are the plung'ers of the fluid-pressure push-b a ck cylinders which operateto 'move the upper head or platen upwardly after its downward stroke, which is accomplished by means of one or niore fluid-pressure cylinders (not shown).

ried on the npper'platen (not shown) As shown in the drawings these push-back plungers are in such a location as to prevent the use of a centering device which might be located in place of these plungers to operate directly against the blank, and in consequence I prefer to arrange my centering device at approximately right angles to the line of these plungers in such a way that they will not interfere with the centering apparatus. 4 is the bottom anvil of the press which carries the bottom die, which anvil is mounted in a slideway 5 on the base so that it may be moved outwardly to replace the dies and inwardly toward the center position illustrated in Figure 1 prior to operation. 6 is the bottom die block, which is illustrated as of the form shown, but I wish it understood that any other form of die blocks may be used to make any other shape or blank or forging. 7 is the top ram of the forging press, which is caris the upper die mounted centrally therein; 9 is a car wheel blank in the form in which it comes from a rolling mill, which consists of a circular cylindrical slug or blank, the ends of which may be somewhat tapered owing to the manner in which it is cut from a long bar, although this blank or slug may have flat ends or ends of other form if desired. The arms of my centering device are 10, which are provided with V-shaped jaws 11 adjustably mounted thereon. The jaws areeach provided with a flange 12, which is adapted to rest on the top of the arm 10, and provided with slot openings 13 therein to receive. the bolts, and these slots will allow the to be adjusted longitudinally 0n the arm, and then held in position by the bolts as illustrated. The flange 12 is not in the center of the jaw, but near one side thereof, and the jaw may be turned upside down, thereby adjusting it to suit and grasp different shapes of blanks to be formed in dies of different shape. The arms 10 are mounted on the pivot pins 14 and are provided with crank arms 15 either formed integral with the arms 10 or secured to the pivot pin 14 so as to move with the arms. The crank arms 15 are provided with pivots 16 and are connected to the cross head 17 by means of the links 21. The piston rod is 18 provided with a screw threaded forward end which is screwed into the crosshead 17 and provided with an adjusting nut 19, and this piston rod may be screwed forwardly or backwardly to adjust the stroke of the arms 10 and it may be locked in position desired by means of the adjusting nut. 19, this'piston rod being connected to a piston which. is mounted in the hydraulic cylinder 20, which cylinder is provided with fluid-pressure connections to operate the piston forward or backward as desired.

The links 21 are pivoted to thecross head by means of the pivot pins 22 and are provided with adjusting blocks or bearings 23 mounted therein, and these adjusting blocks are further provided with liners or shims 241, and by the use of shims of different thicknesses the position. and movement of each of the arms 10 may be independently adjusted. The set screw 25 is also provided to hold the adjusting blocks within the opening of the end of the link 21. The jaws 11 are mounted on the arms 10 and are provided with wedges 26 for moving them longitudinally thereon for the purpose of adjustment. A frame 27 is preferably mounted on the base 28 to support the hydraulic cylinder 20, and 29 are the hubs or tubular shaped end portions of the arms 10, with which the cranks 15 are made integral.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows :The arms 10 being in the positions shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, a blank 9 is placed approximately upon the center portion of the bottom die (3, and by reason of its length and form cannot be accurately positioned thereon. When this is done, the piston of the hydraulic cylinder 20 is re tracted, whereupon the jaws 11 close upon the blank 9, as illustrated by full lines in Figure 1, and by reason of the inclination of the V-shaped portions of the jaws the blank is held thereby in an exact central position above the lower die and between the dies. The top ram 7 with its top die 8 is then moved downwardly until the die contacts with the upper end of the blank and slightly compresses it, thereby holding it firmly so that further movement will not put it out of position. lVhen this is done the piston of the hydraulic cylinder 20 is moved forward, thereby opening the jaws to the positions shown in dotted lines, and the top ram and the top die is moved downwardly by hydraulic or other pressure and forges the blank between the dies to the shape desired. The top die is then retracted and the blank is removed and the operation re peated with another blank.

In order to center the jaws 11 they may he slid longitudinally on the arms 10 by reason of the slotted holes 13, and when the jaws are in the correct position the nuts which hold them to the arms may be tightened, and to assist in this adjustment the wedges 26 may be driven to any extent dcsired, and the wedges 26 may be used on either side of either jaw, between it and the adjacent face or shoulder of the arms 10. The jaws 11 may also be turned upside down, whereby they will be at a different elevation to operate upon any slugs of different lengths or with different dies.

In order to adjust the center position of the jaws laterally with the arms, shims 52-1- of different thicknesses may be used, so that when the jaws are together their center will ltlfi be exactly in line with the center of the dies. The position of the stroke of the jaws may also be adjusted by turning the screw threaded piston rod 18 more or less into or out of the crosshead 17 and correspondingly turning the adjusting nut 19 backward or forward on it to firmly secure the piston rod in position desired.

Although I have shown the centering jaws 11 as of V-shape, I wish it understood these may be of any form to suit any shape which is desired to be centered, but I prefer to make the jaws with a recess so that both sides of the surface of the recess may be operative in positioning the piece which is grasped thereby.

Although I have shown and described my invention in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the exact and specific details thereof, as shown and described, but

may use such modifications in, substitutions for, or equivalents thereof as are embraced within the scope of my invent-ion, or as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A centering device comprising a pair of opposed lever arms pivotally and adj ustably mounted and adapted to swing to and from each other with V-shaped centering jaws adjustably mounted thereon, and means pivoted to their other ends for swinging the same.

2. A centering device comprising a pair of opposed lever arms pivotally mounted and adapted to swing to and from each other, an adjustable V-shaped jaw mounted 011 each arm and opposed to each other, crank arms secured to the other ends of said opposed arms and provided with adjustable means for swinging the same, whereby the centering jaws are closed or opened.

3. A centering device comprising a pair of swinging lever arms, a V-shaped centering jaw adjustably mounted near the end of each arm and opposed to each other, a crank arm secured to the other end of each swing ing arm and provided with an adjustable link connection to a crosshead, and a fluid pressure apparatus secured to said crosshead, whereby said arms are swung to or from each other.

4. In a centering device, a pair of opposed pivoted lever arms, means for adjusting the position of said arms, and a V-shaped jaw adjustably mounted on each arm, whereby it may be set in different positions longitudinally of said arm.

5. In a centering device, a swinging arm provided with a centering jaw mounted thereon, and provided with two contact faces arranged at an angle with each other, a flange projecting outwardly from the rear side of said jaw, said flange being nearer one edge than the other, whereupon by re versal of position on said arm the jaw will be higher or lower with respect to said arm.

6. In a centering device, a pair of swinging arms each provided with a centering jaw mounted near its end, a crank secured to the other end of each arm provided with connection to an operating mechanism and with means for independently adjusting the movement of each arm, to cause said arms to assume a predetermined central position when closed.

7 A centering device comprising a pair of opposed arms, a V-shaped jaw adjustably mounted near the outer end of each arm, a crank on the inner end of each arm, a link pivoted to each crank and to a cross head, said links being provided with bearings and adjusting shims, whereby the throw of each arm may be adjusted to centrally position the pair of jaws when closed.

8. In a centering device, a pair of opposed swinging arms, centering jaws mounted on the outer ends thereof, cranks on the other ends, a link pivoted to each crank and to a cross head, a piston rod adjustably secured to said cross head, whereby the stroke of same may be adjusted, a piston mounted on said piston rod within a fluid-pressure cylinder, and means for operating the same.

9. A centering device comprising a pair of opposed arms, each provided with a centering jaw mounted near its outer end and adjustable longitudinally thereof, each jaw having a pair of centering faces arranged angularly with respect to each other, the other ends of said arms being pivotally mounted, provided with cranks and ad ustable means for operating said cranks, whereby the jaws are moved to and from each other to predetermined positions.

10. A centering device comprising a pair of opposed arms each provided with a centering jaw mounted on its outer end, each of said jaws being provided with a pair of centering faces angularly arranged with respect to each other, means for longitudinally adjusting said jaws on said arms, means for independently adjusting the lateral position of each arm, and means for swinging said arms and attached jaws to and from each other.

In witness whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

BENJAMIN F. FAUNCE. 

